Discovery Cove

Today’s blog post was again guest written by our Dream Homes Office Manager, Anne, who was given a free trip to Discovery Cove by our Sea World Rep in the hopes that we would sell more tickets to this attraction, and a half day off from me in the hopes she would write about it. Discovery Cove is a small, half day, attraction that is owned and located right beside Sea World. There are no rides or slides–It is like spending a day on a tropical island beach. You see the influence of Anne’s early childhood in Britain from the way she expresses herself in her writing. However, we removed all the extraneous “u”s from her spelling so Spellchecker was happy. Enjoy!-LanceAround

The whole park is a lush and tropical oasis where you can swim, snorkel, interact with the dolphins or just relax on a sun lounger or, if you are lucky, one of the hammocks.

After you arrive, You enter a reception area where they check you in and take your picture for your guest pass. There you also receive specially formulated sunscreen that is safe for all the sea critters, so don’t waste your time pre-applying sunscreen. (This is all covered in a letter they send you when you book your Discovery Cove experience.) Then there is a complimentary photograph taken and you are escorted through the park. Your guide shows you all the areas you will need–The restaurant, guest services, wet suit and snorkel area and locker/changing area.

You have a choice of wet suit or vest. My friend Bonnie and I chose the vest and we got our locker keys, changed, and picked up our snorkeling gear.

Our first stop was the stingray lagoon. The water was cool but comfortable once you were in. All the rays have had their barbs removed so you are completely safe. Feeding times are posted and are a great time to be in the stingray lagoon. The marine handler, for want of a better word, was explaining about rays and pointing out the one male in the lagoon for the 30 something females – one of which was pregnant.

Swimming with the fish

The next lagoon was tropical fish and included an underwater tank you could not enter but had windows that allowed you to see barracudas and a very large shark-looking fish. The underwater tank was shaped to look like a sunken ship and you can swim all the way around it. This lagoon is great for snorkeling. There were some huge black spotted rays which kept mainly to the bottom and a large assortment of colorful fish swimming all around us.

The lazy river is not so much lazy! The current flows one way, so make sure you go the right way! There are also some noodles for flotation which would have been greatly beneficial had my friend and I known to use them. We swam around and felt like we had gone miles by the time we got back to the beginning. The sun loungers were then a very wonderful sight.

The food is incredible! There were many choices from meat and potatoes to salads, desert and drink. All the food and drinks are complimentary (including beer–After all, this is an Anheuser-Busch park) and there are also huts in the park offering complimentary drinks and ice cream.

You can swim with the Dolphins for an additional fee on the regular ticket. We did not do this, although anyone is welcome to go over and watch others interacting with them. As of 2008, the price for a day at Discovery Cove is $169 to $189 plus tax (depending on time of year) or $269 to $289 plus tax if you want to add a Dolphin Swim. There is also a “Trainer For The Day” Option for $468 to $488 plus tax.

Other people swimming with the dolphins

On the whole, this is a very well organized and guest friendly park. There is limited entry and this makes a welcome change from the usual packed theme parks.

Discovery Cove is a must see.

Anne

LanceAround NotesEver since Anne came back to work from her day at Discovery Cove she has been happier and has worked harder. So I recommend you show this blog post to your boss and tell him or her that your company should send you on an all expense paid trip to Discovery Cove that is sure to increase your productivity so much, it will more than pay for itself!